Channing Tatum knows a thing or two about patience, especially when it comes to construction.
“It’s a renovation,” he said, shaking his head. “We’ve been renovating our house for about two and a half years. It’s been a nightmare.”
Actors may rant about lawsuits and losses, but behind their frustrations there’s an important common thread: perseverance. The same dogged tenacity that overcame the rigors of home renovations characterizes his work in Roofman. The film is inspired by the true story of Jeffrey Manchester, a man who robbed multiple McDonald’s stores, escaped from prison multiple times, and took refuge at Toys R Us.
I share with Tatum that my first job was at McDonald’s when I was 16, making $5.15 an hour, the minimum wage at the time. Almost 10 years later, around the time the events of “The Roofman” occur, I was working as a human resources supervisor at a Toys R Us in New Jersey (the events of the movie take place in North Carolina). I was in charge of recruiting during the holiday season, when the company was making 80%-90% of its annual revenue. In one scene, Tatum’s co-star Peter Dinklage, who plays the store manager, mentions the same statistic. Part of my job at the time was to let almost all of our temporary employees leave on New Year’s Eve, roughly 95% to 99%.
Tatum doesn’t forget the irony, either. The man who once sold cologne at Macy’s, worked in fast food and stripped down in Florida nightclubs now plays a fugitive who turns retail stores into prisons and playgrounds. “What a dark side to Toys R Us I didn’t know about!” he paused, grinning. “This is the kind of story that feels both absurd and human at the same time. That’s what Derek (Cianfrance) does best. He finds heart in the chaos.”
This performance is one of Tatum’s best, the culmination of a career that has quietly built him up to this moment. From his breakout role in A Guide to Recognizing the Saints to his raw work in Foxcatcher, Tatum has long balanced movie star charisma with a wounded, soulful intensity. In “Roofman,” he brings that duality to its most vulnerable point yet. It could earn him a Golden Globe nomination, and if it hits the right chords, it could possibly make him a dark horse for Oscar attention.
“He did some bad things,” Tatum admitted. “But he’s not a bad guy. He’s funny, he’s charming, he’s paranoid, and he survived nearly 10 years in solitary confinement. That does something to a person.”
Tatum has not yet met the real Manchester, who is incarcerated in North Carolina, but says he plans to. “He said something that stuck with me: ‘When I’m Happy Jeff, everything’s great. But when they break the deal or don’t give me what I’m entitled to, then Bad Jeff shows up.’ That’s the simple truth: We all have a Bad Jeff somewhere inside us.”
Working with Cianfrance, who co-wrote the script with Kurt Gunn, was one of the most absorbing experiences of his career. “Derek is probably the most performance-loving director I’ve ever worked with,” Tatum says. “He thinks of a character first and then builds the world around that character from the inside out.”
The Cianfrance process was demanding and unconventional, but always fun. “He said, ‘Give me Seinfeld and keep talking with your hands.'” Or, “Give me a take on Buster Keaton, give me a take on Jerry Lewis,” Tatum says with a laugh. “We did a silent take where we just thought of the words. I guarantee you there will be a silent version of this movie.”
Derek Cianfrance and Channing Tatum attend the TIFF variety magazine cover party.
Michelle Quance/Variety
Opposite Tatum, Oscar nominee Kirsten Dunst (Power of the Dog) plays Manchester’s love interest and soulmate. “I was scared to work with her,” he admits. “She’s one of the greatest actors of our time, but people forget that because she seems to play it so effortlessly.”
Dunst delivers what Tatum calls a “slow, precise, and devastating” performance. Cianfrance intentionally kept the two apart until they filmed their first scene together. “As soon as I looked into her eyes, all the nerves went away,” Tatum says. “I thought, ‘She’s going to make me better.’
Just as he did in Bennett Miller’s psychological drama “Foxcatcher,” Tatum brought his whole self to “Roofman.” He recalled an experience he had with co-star Mark Ruffalo years ago, saying, “We hugged each other and cried for many minutes. That movie was a meditation on suffering. I’ve never given myself so much to a role, until this movie.”
Tatum pauses when the conversation turns to AI-generated performers like Tilly Norwood. “I instinctively hate it,” he says before sharing an interesting metaphor. “But every innovation in art caused panic. When acrylic paint came along, we said oil paint is not real art. After all, it’s just another tool. Still, I always want to see real people. I want to feel what’s actually hurting and breathing on the screen.”
Tatum’s schedule remains busy. When the subject turns to Gambit, he lights up. Gambit is a long-delayed X-Men character that he tried to bring to life in a standalone movie before the Disney-Fox merger. A brief cameo in Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine finally gave us a taste of what he could have really been. “It was the most high-stakes cosplay ever,” he says, giddy and excited. “I looked around and I saw Deadpool, Wolverine, and Blade. And I was standing there in full gambit. I had this out-of-body moment.” As for what happens next, Tatum hinted that Marvel “has ideas” for the future of this character. “I think we’ll see a world where Gambit finally gets his due, if that’s what the fans really want.”
When asked if there’s any chance the long-lost film “Gambit” will rise from the ashes, Tatum grins. “You know… if we had made the Fox version, that script would never have been made. It was an R-rated romantic comedy. And when I say R-rated, I mean we went for it,” he says. “We made Gambit a character that could only exist in a movie with Deadpool. Mutants had sex! It was wild. That’s something you’d never do at Marvel or Disney. I don’t necessarily know what Disney will do, but you never know what will happen. It’s not going to be horror. It’s not going to be sex. But I think Marvel needs that kind of tonal diversity. Gambit is a great opportunity for Marvel. There’s a lot of that. You can hang out with him, and he’s slowly being incorporated into the Marvel psyche. That’s very interesting and I think someday they’ll figure it out. ”
He grinned, imagining another version of the movie. “If Derek Cianfrance had directed it? Well, it would have been ‘Henrich.'” He doesn’t think about special effects. He’ll say, “Why should he throw the car?” Why can’t it be done realistically? That’s how his brain works. Always down to earth, always human. ”
“21 Jump Street”
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy of Everett Co/Everett Collection
The spark fades slightly when the conversation turns to the long-delayed 21 Jump Street sequel. Despite Tatum calling it “heartily the best script I’ve ever read for myself and Jonah (Hill),” the project has stalled multiple times in development and continues to sink under the weight of what he calls a huge budget and producer fees.
“I get asked more about Jump Street 3 than any other movie I’ve ever done on the planet,” Tatum says. “I don’t think that would ever happen. The problem is the overhead. With all the producers involved, it would cost as much, if not more, than the actual budget of the movie. It’s too heavy. It collapses every time.”
Tatum said he, Hill, and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller agreed to a reduced producer fee. He said the issue remains producer Neal H. Moritz’s compensation, which makes the project financially unviable. “Neil’s producer fees are huge,” Tatum says. “And to be honest, it’s deadly.”
The first film grossed $201 million worldwide in 2012, and the sequel in 2014 grossed $331 million. But despite several attempts, including canceling a planned crossover with Men in Black, Sony and the filmmakers have struggled to get the third installment off the ground.
The actor will next head to Australia to star in Captain Fantastic director Matt Ross’s Cockroach, a role he calls “a once-in-a-lifetime role. It’s three movies in one, and it’s absolute madness.”
After finishing his interview, Tatum walked out of Variety’s office and stopped in the hallway, where a framed photo of Andrew Garfield and Ryan Reynolds from Variety Studios’ “Actors on Actors” shoot caught his eye. He took out his cell phone and recorded a playful video addressed to Reynolds. “Why are you in this car? Where are you going?” he joked, grinning as he walked towards the exit. He’s a movie star who still finds humor in the craziness of Hollywood. “I’m sure he’ll like it too,” I text him.
